Shaili is like me, says India’s long jump queen Anju

Shaili was 13 at that time and had finished fifth in a national meet. Now 17, she announced her arrival on the big stage by winning a silver in the U-20 world championships, missing out on a historic gold

Small, frail and not even in top three—that was Shaili Singh when Anju Bobby George first saw her but the iconic Indian long jumper still decided to mentor her as she found the youngster to be more or less like her with a never-say-die attitude.

Shaili was 13 at that time and had finished fifth in a national meet. Now 17, she announced her arrival on the big stage by winning a silver in the U-20 world championships, missing out on a historic gold by a mere 1cm with a 6.59m effort in the long jump final in Nairobi on Sunday.

The Jhansi-born athlete missed a chance to join the likes of Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and star quartermiler Hima Das who won gold medals in 2016 and 2018 respectively. 

She is nonetheless being touted as the next being thing in Indian athletics. “When I saw her steely resolve and of course her body structure and muscle suited for long jump, I knew she would go a long way,” said Anju, 44. 

“Later, I found out that she is a fast learner, always tries to improve, has a never-say-die attitude. In short, she is more or less like me,” added Anju, who won a bronze in the 2003 senior World Championships in Paris.

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